Start with The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas. It provides good context on what led the country to civil war in 1936, and many of the problems unfortunately p

Start with The Spanish Civil War by Hugh Thomas. It provides good context on what led the country to civil war in 1936, and many of the problems unfortunately prevail nowadays. EDIT: I see I'm being downvoted, but I stand by my words. I'll provide more context though. The Spanish Civil War is the pivotal moment in Spanish history in the 20th century and explains a lot of what Spain is nowadays - from the state of autonomías (autonomous regions), to the bitter divide between Left and Right, or the total inability to reach national agreements on education and other strategic matters. Aside from that it's an authoritative and engrossing read.